Not to Trust
by Epona3
Summary: In Suffragette City, Auggie never considered that Annie could be a traitor. But what if she was? In this alternate universe, it all turns out very different. This is not fluff (or slash, even though I'm labeling it Auggie and Eyal.) Tentatively finished, though there may eventually be an epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

Everybody in the CIA knew that August Anderson was extremely over-qualified for the grunt work he was doing. The older data analyst rarely dealt with anybody else within the agency, merely arriving at work each day and going through intelligence for nine hours. He took breaks like clockwork, in the morning to get coffee and mid day to go to the gym. He drank a protein shake at his desk for lunch and at 5:15 every day he used his red and white cane to leave the building and meet the ride-share van. He wore a wedding band, so everybody assumed he had a wife waiting at home.

Occasionally he was pulled from his desk to go to meetings with some other departments. He always protested the interruption and came back from those irritable, as if somebody had picked at an old wound. He wanted nothing to do with field operations.

There were many rumors about Anderson. Most of his newer coworkers assumed that his anti-social ways were related to the injury that took his sight. The people that had been around a while knew that he had experience as a highly competent handler after being blinded. He even accomplished some impressive fieldwork without his sight.

The truth was, August Anderson lost all interest in the excitement of spycraft, after being deceived by Annie Walker.

...

_**A/N: Tell me how much you hate it in the reviews! Because I promise, this will not be fluff. (And despite labeling it Auggie and Eyal, there won't be slash, either.) **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I'm truly overwhelmed by all the interest in this story. I really wrote it to stop obsessing over the idea, so the fact that everybody isn't horrified at the concept makes me happy! I plan to upload more on Friday evening, with an update to Overt tomorrow, instead. Can you tell that I love my AUs? **_

* * *

Auggie had exhausted all of the available resources within the CIA before he reached out to Eyal Lavine. He knew the Mossad agent was willing to step further outside the lines than the typical Agency man, and hoped that he liked Annie enough to go through with the ridiculous plan that Arthur shot down moments ago. Annie was worth rescuing, and Auggie wasn't going to be able to sit still until he knew somebody was trying to get her home.

Auggie couldn't believe his ears when he received the encrypted message from Russia about a lost collie. He listened to the mechanical voice at three different speeds, and even reviewed the protocol he had arranged for the mission communications. There was no doubt that Eyal was telling him that Annie was not in the prison.

When Auggie finally arranged an encrypted phone call with the foreign agent, he was completely confused.

"What do you mean she isn't there?"

"Nice to finally speak to you, too. I mean that our girl is not in that prison. Nobody has seen her there, nobody knows anything, and the three rescue attempts I tried led me to empty cells. She isn't there."

"And you activated the YTF protocol?"

"There's nothing, and my boss is on my ass to get back to Malaysia. I want to stay and search for her, but I have to keep my day job, too. But I'll be in touch. Let me know what you find, ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Auggie replied.

"I might be able to make it back in a few weeks. I'll call you."

"Ok." Auggie replied, then hung up without waiting for a reply.

Auggie explained the situation to Arthur, who was unhappy with both the unsanctioned op and the results. The facts were troubling, so Auggie and the Agency continued to dig.

After two weeks without new information, Joan called Auggie into her office. He sat in one of the chairs, expecting a normal pre-mission brief. Life had to go on at some point.

"Auggie, we have some news about Annie." She stated with sadness in her voice.

Her tone told Auggie all that he needed to hear. "Where was the body?" He asked.

"She is alive and well as far as we know." Arthur's voice startled Auggie both because he didn't know he was in the room, and because of his words.

"Where?" Auggie asked.

"We don't know yet. All that we know is that she has been working for Russian Intelligence." Arthur explained.

"If that is true, it was under duress." Auggie stated.

"It is true." Arthur clarified.

"There are signs that she is not only cooperative, but that some of Lena's information when Annie was in the hospital was accurate." Joan explained. "We think, preliminarily, that Lena turned her while she was under her tutelage here, shot her when she couldn't keep Annie under her thumb in my department, and that Annie has gone to Russia to join the FSB."

"If that were true, which I refuse to believe, why would she go back to Russia? She had - has - the trust of the CIA."

"I know you won't trust the facts until you can read through them. I've granted you full clearance to the files, which are shaping up to be a pretty solid case." Arthur stated.

Auggie nodded. "I appreciate that, sir."

"We have mobilized two operatives in Russia. But you know there is protocol in place for her to signal that she is under duress, and we have not yet seen any of those signs."

"Lena would recognize them." Auggie stated.

"Perhaps. That's why we still have hope. But not much, Auggie. Read through the information, and let us know if anything jumps out at you."

"Will do, sir. Anything else?"

"No, thank you."

Auggie took Arthur's tone as a dismissal and walked back to his desk. He was in a fog, anxious to dig through the information. Arthur was wrong, and he would prove it.

A week later, Auggie was still unable to find anything that explained Annie's treasonous behavior. He was considering his options when the line he set up for Eyal rang.

"Hello." Auggie answered.

"You sound rough. Any news about our girl?" Eyal asked.

"Thank you, and no. Absolutely nothing on our end." Auggie lied. "You?"

"Nah. I've been predisposed the past few weeks. I was hoping she was safe and sound by now."

"Me too." Auggie replied. "Look, I was thinking of taking some time off. I've been working too hard recently, you know? Thinking about spending some time in Eastern Europe. Cleanse my system with some beets. Problem is, I don't know much Russian, and I might need a tour guide."

"I have some time off coming up and while I'm not all that interested in a beet cleanse, I could introduce you to some of the greatest vodka you have ever tried."

"That sounds like a plan. Give me three days."


	3. Chapter 3

_**I don't think I have replied to any of the reviews for this story, but thank you for all of them! They really make it all worthwhile. I'm glad that some people are enjoying this story. **_

* * *

Joan was happy that Auggie requested some time off. While Annie had been missing he was running himself to the point of exhaustion, and she was worried about him. He told her he was going to spend some time with his brother in the family cabin in Wisconsin, and she informed him that if his passport was used to leave the country, she would know.

Since Lena only killed one of the best cobblers in DC, Auggie had no problem getting a fake passport from one of the others. He was on the plane to Russia in two days, hoping that maybe he would get lucky.

Auggie called Eyal from the airport in Moscow to let him know he was at the baggage claim.

"I'll be there shortly." Eyal said. "My flight just landed."

"You will have to come find me. Shouldn't be too hard. I'm the anxious blind guy in the leather jacket."

There was a momentary silence on the other end of the line. Perhaps Auggie should have shared that detail earlier.

"You didn't think that would be relevant?" Eyal asked.

"If I hold you back, I'll leave. Simple as that."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem. I'll be there as soon as I get through customs."

The line went silent. Auggie leaned against a wall, gripping his cane tightly. He had listened to Russian language guides for the whole flight, and had learned bits and pieces from Natasha years ago, but he still only caught a few details from the surrounding conversations. The vocabulary was similar to Turkish, but the similarities between the languages ended there. He at least knew enough to ask for help, if it came to that.

Running his hand along the wall for four steps in each direction, Auggie started to pace. He was ready to get going.

"I would highly recommend you wash your hands after touching most of the public facilities around here." A familiar male voice spoke from a few feet away.

Auggie turned toward the familiar voice and stretched his hand out. "Nice to meet you in person."

A firm hand met with Auggie's. "Same here. Hate the circumstances, though."

"Probably wouldn't have happened, otherwise." Auggie stated. He reached out to the arm that Eyal used to shake his hand and took his elbow. "I'll be right here, you lead the way."

"Okay," Eyal replied in a tone that told Auggie he might not be entirely okay. "I had planned to start your tour of this lovely city with the beautiful underground train system. But if you prefer, we could get a car."

"While I love public transit, I know that we'll need the car. I've arranged a place for us to stay north of the city."

"But I have a lovely apartment I normally use, it's connected to a ballet studio. It's nice and private, while being right in the middle of the city."

"Let's get the car, then I'll explain the lodging arrangements."

By the time the two men were in the rental, Eyal seemed to be more comfortable around Auggie. It was as though walking through the airport had been enough to prove the American's competence. After Eyal sweeped the car, but before he pulled away from the airport, he turned to Auggie.

"I take it there is more information than you led me to believe?"

"I have reason to believe that she's in Yaroslavl, a town northeast of here. Take the M8 out of town, and it should go right through. I've arranged a home-base for us at an apartment there."

"I hope it has a decent kitchen. I have to make one stop in Moscow, first."

Auggie was visibly irritated by the delay, but swallowed his protest. "You're the driver," was all that he stated.

"You Americans are always in such a hurry. I promise that this will be worthwhile."

The stop was fast. Auggie waited in the car while Eyal ran into the building and came back with something he placed in the backseat.

Auggie tapped his cane against his leg impatiently.

"So how much more information are you keeping from me?" Eyal asked as they drove away.

"All the resources of Mossad, and you weren't able to research me before coming?" Auggie asked as though Eyal's question never happened.

"Didn't have time."

"Bullshit."

"I felt like I already knew you, through our encrypted emails and the few phone conversations. Didn't feel like I needed to do any research."

"Mossad is never less than thorough. I'm not buying it."

Eyal sighed. "Our records have you as a former field operative that was injured in Iraq. I expected a bum leg or something."

"Huh." Auggie said, genuinely shocked.

"I'm thoroughly embarrassed by this hole in our intelligence."

"As you should be." Auggie replied with a smile.

"Not like American intelligence doesn't have flaws."

"All intelligence has flaws."

"Evasions aside, what do you know about Walker?"

"Not much. I'm hoping that she'll come to us."

"What is there to do in this small Russian town?"

"I'm sure they have vodka."

"You brought me to be more than your designated driver, right?"

"Yeah. Anyhow, I expect her to be at the chapel in the center of town tomorrow morning."

"She came to Russia and found religion?"

Auggie took a deep breath. "She's been showing up there every Tuesday morning to meet with an FSB operative."

"You think they turned her?" Eyal asked, shocked.

"No. I don't." Auggie responded. He sighed heavily. "But she is definitely doing something for the FSB. We think that the woman that shot her is still alive, and that she and Annie are working together. Either Annie has been turned, or she is unable to follow protocol for signaling that she is under duress."

"You are hoping for the latter."

"I have to believe the latter."

"I know you are an intelligent guy. You have to consider the idea that she's turned."

"I've considered it, and decided that it is highly unlikely." Auggie said, slightly irritated.

Eyal looked at his traveling companion, and in that moment confirmed that the relationship was far closer than that of a handler and agent.

They arrived in the town, and quickly found the safehouse that Auggie had arranged.

"As far as I could tell, there aren't any premium accommodations in Russia. This place is supposed to at least have heat."

"Better than that, there is a kitchen!"

"Why would you need a kitchen?" Auggie asked as he explored the perimeter of the room.

"To cook the beets I picked up before we left town. You said you wanted some right?"

Auggie pinched his eyebrows together, his face complete confusion. "You cook?"

"Annie didn't tell you that?"

"Can't say it ever came up."

"What did she tell you about me?" Eyal asked as he watched the other man explore the space.

"Enough for me to trust you."

"You are awfully trusting for a CIA guy."

"I kind of have to be." Auggie said as he returned to where Eyal was standing.

"Then trust this vodka." Eyal said as he handed Auggie a glass.

Auggie took a sip, slowly. "That is good. But I'll go ahead and tell you now that even if you liquor me up and cook a grand dinner, I'm still not sleeping with you."

"Damn." Eyal replied. "I was hoping I had a shot."

...

Auggie and Eyal sat at a cafe near the apartment the next morning, drinking coffee. Eyal was surveying the area, and Auggie was unreasonably calm.

"Are you sure we should be out here in the open like this?" Eyal asked.

"Like I told you yesterday, I'm hoping that she comes to us."

"But that's banking on her being able to, and that she wants to. What if she sees us and runs?"

"Then we will find her." Auggie replied, as if it was the most reasonable answer ever. "And we will ruin her."

"Got it." Eyal stated. They sipped coffee in silence for a little while.

"Tell me what you see." Auggie said, after a while.

"Other than the emotionally-charged American in front of me, there aren't any people out. The church is tiny, with the main entrance facing this road."

"Any side entrances?" Auggie asked.

"One that I can see from here, but I saw a clergyman walk around from the other side, so I know there are more."

"Did he look suspicious?"

"Not really. Do you have reason to believe that the whole church might be an FSB front?"

"Anything is possible." Auggie replied.

"Sure, it's possible. But is it probable?"

"Thank you, Sherlock." Auggie drew out the words. "Right now, anything is both probable and possible."

"The woman that shot Annie, she knows what you look like, right?"

"Yep."

"Then isn't it a risk for you to be out here? Maybe I should go to the church and you wait at the room, and we see if she makes contact with me, first."

Auggie sighed. He didn't want to turn the reins over to Eyal, but more than anything he needed this mission to succeed. If Annie couldn't follow protocol for signaling distress, she definitely wouldn't be able to contact Auggie. Reluctantly, he agreed. "I want to hear everything, though. We should go wire you up, we only have an hour."

"Kinky." Eyal replied.

"Gross." Auggie stated with a grimace as he stood up and straightened his cane.

The men went back to the room and Auggie gave Eyal the two-way communication devices.

"I don't usually work with a handler." Eyal said as he was hiding the microphone.

"Yeah well, nothing about this is usual." Auggie replied. "If this is the only way I can be there, this is how it will be."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry this is later than promised. I have really fought with this chapter, as it totally feels OOC. Then I realized that yeah, it is OOC. That's why it's an AU. I may go back and tweak it in the future, but at the moment I'd rather focus on other stories. **_

* * *

Eyal entered the church and took a seat in the back. He looked around, taking in the bare look of the decor. He wasn't there long before he felt eyes on him, and looked up to see a woman with short black hair duck behind a wall in the front of the church.

It took a moment for it to register to Eyal that this was the same woman that Annie had supposedly killed.

"Lena," Eyal said very quietly, knowing Auggie would catch it.

"Are you sure?" Auggie asked, but got no answer. From the rustling of fabric it sounded like Eyal was moving.

In the room where Auggie sat, he heard somebody at the door of the safe-house. He ducked into the bathroom as the person was coming in. He knew he couldn't hide in the small space, and it wasn't reasonable to think that he could run, so his only chance was a fight in close quarters. He positioned for a fight when he heard her voice.

"Auggie, I know you are here." Annie stated.

Auggie stepped into the doorframe. "Annie?"

"You are a fool, you know."

Auggie didn't respond, just followed the wall toward her voice. It sounded slightly different than usual, and her words didn't have any softness that would mean she was there to reconcile.

"I appreciate the concern, but really, you should have just backed down." She added.

Auggie listened, trying to assess the situation. He knew there was more to what Annie was saying.

...

Eyal followed Lena out the back door of the church just in time to see Annie walking into the building where Auggie was waiting. He ran toward the building, only to be intercepted by Lena, who attempted to punch him, resulting in a hand-to-hand fight.

...

"I really hate that you came here. You are leaving me no choice." Annie stated.

"Annie, please. I'm here to help you get home."

"This is home, Auggie." Annie replied. "I have far more support here than I did in the US."

Auggie could feel her coming closer, and for the first time he considered the possibility that she might hurt him. "You have my support." Auggie stated.

"You support me now. Where were you and the agency before Lena shot me? I was all on my own. I loved you, Auggie. I loved you, and you ran off to propose to some girl you barely knew." Annie nearly spit with bitterness.

Auggie backed away from her as she approached.

"When you went to Eritrea to propose I went to Simon. He would have made me from the beginning as CIA, if Lena hadn't already told him that I was a candidate to be a double agent. It didn't take much to convince me to turn. You and Joan had already turned on me."

Auggie fought the range of emotions brought by her words.

"The FSB was upset with Lena for turning me, so she was supposed to kill me. When she failed, I came to make things right. You were supposed to accept me as dead, not follow me. I hate to do this, Auggie. I really do."

With that, Auggie felt her lunge at him, and he crouched to retaliate. No matter what she was saying now, Auggie had spent enough time in the gym to know her weaknesses. The problem was that he just couldn't get himself to swing the punches he needed to swing to win the fight. She quickly had him pinned to the floor. Auggie wasn't even trying to fight back.

...

Eyal finally got the gun from Lena's hands and shot her square in the chest without hesitation. Quickly, he ran to the room where Auggie was waiting. He opened the door to see Annie crouched over Auggie with a blade in her hand, ready to press it into his neck. In three strides, Eyal was at Annie and wrestling to get the blade from her hand.

Coming to his senses, and with a little bit of self-preservation, Auggie rolled out from under Annie and moved out of Eyal's way. "Annie, please - this isn't you!" Auggie shouted, taking a step toward the noise of the fight.

Annie got her arm away from Eyal and turned to slash at Auggie, cutting a shallow gash across his chest. He jumped back, realizing how dangerous the situation really was. He listened as Eyal fought with Annie, knowing that the larger man would be able to win the fight.

Eyal struggled to keep the large knife that Annie was wielding away from himself. He hoped that Auggie's cut wasn't too deep, but they could worry about that later. He moved left, hoping to get her off-balance as she lunged, but she came around and drove the knife into his arm. He used her moment of hesitation as she felt the bone and steel meet to move forward and punch her, rendering her unconscious. She fell to the floor, the knife falling out of her hand.

Auggie could hear Eyal's ragged breathing. "Is she out?"

"For the moment." Eyal responded. "Got me good, though."

"Where?" Auggie asked. Eyal was breathing steady enough that he didn't think it was in the chest or abdomen.

"My right arm. Straight to the bone. You got some backup nearby?"

"I'm technically not even here." Auggie replied. "But I can find us some backup. Think she's going to come to any time soon?"

"Likely. Three meters to your ten o'clock is my bag sitting on a chair. I've got some zip ties in the outside pocket just for this occasion. Can you handle it?"

"Yeah." Auggie said, already finding the bag and reaching through. He found the plastic ties easily and made his way back to the unconscious version of the woman that used to be his friend laying on the floor. He reached down and felt for her hands, and swiftly secured her hands and feet.

"You are bleeding pretty badly there, too." Eyal said as Auggie rose from the now-restrained Annie.

Auggie ran his hand over the cut on his chest, feeling the blood on his fingers. "I don't think it's that deep." Auggie said. "I'm going to go ahead and call in some backup."

Auggie went to his equipment and dialed the DPD, straight to Joan's unencrypted line. "Joan, hey. I am having a little bit of trouble on my vacation. I've come down with a stomach bug, and I'm not going to make it in on Friday."

"Understood. Take care of yourself, and let me know what you need from this end."

The line went dead. Auggie put the phone in his pocket, hoping that he hadn't covered it in blood.

"Help is on the way. Do I need to get you anything for your arm?"

...

The adrenaline left Auggie's system after he was settled on the small jet to Germany, where they would meet up with a Marine escort to take Annie back to Washington, DC. Eyal was temporarily stitched up, with an appointment to see a Mossad approved doctor in Germany, where they would split paths.

"I'm sorry man. I know this isn't how you wanted this journey to end." Eyal said from the seat next to Auggie.

"Thanks for the help. I hope your arm is okay."

"I'm sure the doctors in Isreal can stitch me back together. Maybe I'll even get feeling back in these two fingers."

Auggie grimaced. He knew that Eyal had downplayed his injuries. Noticing that Auggie wasn't in a mood to talk, they rode for the rest of the flight in silence.

...

When Auggie got back to the DPD, he had considered his upcoming conversation with Joan for over 36 hours. He hadn't been home, and was told to go straight to her office when he arrived.

"I'm so sorry, Auggie."

"Joan. I will go through the debrief and provide whatever information that you would like, and then I would like to hand in my resignation."

"Auggie, this isn't your fault."

"Joan, I worked with her every day for over two years. I let my own personal opinion of her get in the way of signs that she was a foreign operative right here in front of us. You may trust me, but I will never trust myself."

"You will, Auggie."

"Do you need anything else from me right now?"

"Report to polygraph, then go home. I would give you time off, but you need to be here."

...

The next morning Auggie showed up in Joan's office with the lack of sleep clear on his face.

"Auggie, please sit." Joan directed Auggie to the couch where she sat next to him.

"I still want to give you this, Joan." Auggie handed her a typed paper with his signature scrawled at the bottom.

"I don't accept it, Auggie."

"I didn't think you would. I put in an official request away from field operations earlier this morning."

"Auggie, your skills are needed near the field. You are the most talented handler in this agency."

Auggie scoffed at her statement. "I was so close to her, Joan. There were signs. There were many signs. I should have seen them. I let my emotional attachment to an operative cloud my judgment. I endangered this whole office with my mistake. You may be comfortable with me staying in the same position, but I am not at all comfortable with it."

"I understand. How about you stay in this position for a month, don't rush into anything, and in the meantime you won't have to worry about any handler duties?"

"I'm not going to change my mind, Joan."

"Give it time, Auggie."

Auggie did give it time. He attended Annie's court-marshal and accepted that she would spend the rest of her life in federal prison. He helped Joan identify all missions that were considered compromised because of Annie and Lena's presence in the CIA. And then he demanded that he be transferred to a position that was purely data collection.

He no longer wanted any personal connection to his coworkers. He developed more relationships outside of work, he let some of his international contacts fall away with the passing of time, and he moved on with his new life. His career became a career, rather than his whole life. Whenever it felt hard, he remembered the pain he felt when Annie pointed out his own foolishness.


End file.
